Tax rate on helmets

SERCPRO

I found out an interesting fact today about safety goods for sport such as helmets.
In the UK all helmets for sport and travel are taxed at the lower rate.
Here in the Banana Republic of Ireland the Gov tax all helmets and safety items at the higher rate of tax.
This to me doesn't seem right ....Is this a well know fact or would it be something worth bringing to the attention of a wider audience to kickstart a campaign perhaps in tandem with Cycling Ireland and motorcycling bodies ??

would love to hear any opinions thanks

Craig06

Last time I bought a helmet was from the uk, purely due to this. It's ridiculous. Well done Ireland

lennymc

Motorbike helmets are zero vat in the uk but full vat rate here even though they are a compulsory safety requirement. They should all be zero vat otherwise a good chunk of cash leaves the country.

Beasty

There's possibly someone in the UK right now thinking how lucky we are in Ireland - not only can we buy VAT free helmets from any UK online retailer not registered for VAT in Ireland, but we can also get tax relief knocking up to a further 50% or so off the price if we avail of the BTW scheme and purchase a helmet under that

It could also be argued that the UK system is overly generous anyway - why should someone buying a top of the range TT helmet at maybe €300 be subsidised to the tune of €60 for example? Good helmets are available for maybe €50 which includes VAT of around €10

One further point I would mention - if we started a campaign to make helmets cheaper, the government may actually pay attention, and at the same time say "well we may as well revisit the idea of compulsion" - but that's for a different thread;)

deandean

ach sure cycle helmets are regarded as an unnecessary luxury, like chocolate. that's why they are hit with high VAT.

Del2005

SERCPRO wrote: »

I found out an interesting fact today about safety goods for sport such as helmets.
In the UK all helmets for sport and travel are taxed at the lower rate.
Here in the Banana Republic of Ireland the Gov tax all helmets and safety items at the higher rate of tax.
This to me doesn't seem right ....Is this a well know fact or would it be something worth bringing to the attention of a wider audience to kickstart a campaign perhaps in tandem with Cycling Ireland and motorcycling bodies ??

would love to hear any opinions thanks

MAG Ireland have been campaigning for years to get motorcycle helmets zero vat rated without success. The government rather we spend our money out of the country for mandatory safety gear, so I've obliged and spent my money in another country to get my helmet's cheaper.

C-Shore

Kids helmets are VAT free and an interesting fact I found out is that if you size a helmet for an adult, design it the exact same as an adults helmet, but label it as a youth helmet - it's considered a youth helmet and therefore VAT free.

Hunterbiker

Its the EU who sets the rules on VAT now don't they?
The UK have an oot out on a range of items that are non VAT there but vatable elsewhere.

Beasty

Hunterbiker wrote: »

Its the EU who sets the rules on VAT now don't they?
The UK have an oot out on a range of items that are non VAT there but vatable elsewhere.

The EU sets the basic rules, and individual countries are allowed to set their own rates which includes the option of lower rate(s) and/or a zero rate on certain goods and activities. That's why there's been a temporary reduction in Ireland on certain tourist services for example - it's considered an "attraction" to encourage visitors to come to Ireland and hopefully spend money that will help support the economy

paulgs

I actually had this issue with Amazon buying kids helmets they were trying to charge 23%vat when I was checking out, it took a few emails and copy and paste to the relevant legislation and I eventually got them to concede and refund the vat.